A blog about a family who left on a major sailing trip starting in the Great Lakes.

Tuesday, November 08, 2005

Liferafts - Day 941

Many vessels are found, often years later, floating after being abandoned with liferaft and crew missing. I am not saying that not carrying a liferaft is an option, but the only way I am getting into it is if I have to step up to get into it. Just imagine that you are in a boat getting beaten up by 35 foot waves and you have been bailing water with a five gallon bucket for hours and the wind is only getting louder. Then the mast breaks. There is your liferaft calling out to you. The liferaft requires no looking after on your part. It is a nice womb to curl up in and forget about all your worries. The only problem is that people in liferafts have a very small chance of survival. Estimates vary, but most are around a one in three chance of survival in the open ocean. I will take the sailboat thank you very much.